The Steel Perilous

“I believe zelpnirs will be the safest way to get there,” Dart was saying as he pulled a saddle and bridle off the wall of the stables. “You’ll be able to travel faster and the creatures themselves are excellent at detecting creatures from the ninth sphere.”

“That's great,” Trick said, “but I've got no idea how to ride one of those things. I've never even ridden a horse. That's the major riding animal back home and it only had four legs.”

“You keep calling Harbek a small town,” Beltran said. “And I'm not saying it's huge. But you must come from an absolutely tiny place if you were able to walk everywhere without having to rely on some kind of ride.”

“Oh, I had a ride. It just wasn’t an animal.” Trick walked slowly around the multilegged creature, trying to determine if there was really any difference between how a zelpnir was saddled and bridled versus a horse. He wasn’t an expert on either creature so he really couldn’t tell. “I know horses do most of the work for you under normal circumstances. As long as these guys aren’t any different I should be able to muddle through for a trip or two.”

“They’re smart creatures,” Dart said, passing the tack off to Chestin and taking down another set. “Just don’t let them get distracted by edible creatures scuttling by and you’ll be fine.”

“Right. They’re omnivores, gotta remember that.” He eyed the zelpnir’s sharp front teeth for a second. “They don’t eat people, do they?”

“Sometimes they’ll eat dead bodies, if there’s nothing else filling on hand, but they don’t usually find us tasty.” Bertran finished saddling the zelpnir he was working on and motioned for Trick to join him. They spent the next five minutes going through basic mounting and dismounting procedures and how to turn its head in the general direction it was supposed to go in. “They’re fairly social animals, though. If you’re with Chestin your zelpnir should just follow his unless you get attacked by something.”

“How likely is that? I know the danger from the ninth sphere is supposed to decrease after zenith but how soon after zenith is that the case?”

“The odds of starsight or bottomless shadows appearing are approaching their lowest point,” Dart said. “They won’t get there for another arc or so and there’s always a possibility they see you and pay a visit. Still, it’s unlikely at this point. The whispers of Apollyon can show up at any time, they don’t come and go as Weyland does, but they’re the rarest of the ninth sphere at all times so I wouldn’t worry about them.”

Trick froze with one arm still over the zelpnir’s neck. “Whispers of Apollyon?”

“Correct. They either scout for lumi or coordinate larger groups of starsight,” Bertran said. “No one’s entirely sure which they do, if they actually do anything besides frighten people. They also take the fewest direct actions against us so we’re less certain what they’re usual methods or goals are. I presume they just want lumi, like the others do, but it’s not certain.”

“Sure. That makes sense.” Trick wasn’t really thinking about that, though.

The use of the name Apollyon was what really caught his attention. It wasn’t the first example of a name on the seventh sphere that he’d also heard on Earth but it was hands down the most sinister. It wasn’t like the constellation Weyland, for example. That was a name from Earth’s mythology, just like Apollyon, but there was still a difference in nature.

Weyland was just a blacksmith. Apollyon was a destroying demon who reigned over the abyss or the grave, Trick couldn’t recall which. That was a whole order of magnitude more portentous than a simple smith.

“Trick?” Chestin was staring at him.

He realized he was still in the middle of mounting his zelpnir and he finished the motion, shoving thoughts of Apollyon to the back of his mind. Just another puzzle piece to figure out at another time. “I’m ready when you are.”

Chestin led them out into the stable yard, leading a saddled creature with no rider out by the bridle. Trick turned his own mount after them and away they went. Outside they found Sari and Cethvik speaking softly to one another. Trick caught a few words from them as he rode past.

“I’ll be happy to take up the veil again, if that’s what the elders deem appropriate for me as the brightest again,” Cethvik was saying. “I know your mother thinks you’ll find something down there. She would know better than I would. But even if you don’t find it down there don’t worry. Just keep looking. I’ll take your place here for as long as I have to.”

“What if I never find it?” Sari asked.

“Then I’ll stay here in your place as long as I need to. You don’t ever have to come back, although we’ll always be waiting to see you again.” Cethvik gave his daughter a kiss on the top of her head, then helped her into her saddle and handed her a shoulder bag and her staff. Then he turned his attention to Trick. “Take care of my daughter out there.”

He wasn’t sure why Cethvik said that to him but he replied, “Of course.”

Now that all three of them were there they headed back towards the reservoir gate, the same gate Trick had used to enter Harbek, and Dart opened the portcullis to let them out. The zelpnir’s proved their usefulness as a mount immediately, swimming the reservoir with no issue, even with riders on their backs. Once they were across the reservoir Chestin led them on a twisting route away from Harbek. They wove among hills and spoke as little as possible to avoid attracting attention.

After that they spent another couple of hours riding cross country. The nation of Caspar hadn’t built much in the way of roads in the area around Harbek. There were some well worn trails, here and there, and they occasionally crossed stretches of the red desert that were marked with guide flags, but for the most part they were working their way through unmarked scrub lands.

Thankfully Chestin had a sextant, a compass and maps. Every so often he would stop and consult them and, while he did, Trick would make small talk with Sari. They’d spoken once or twice since the zenith festival. However she’d been distant in those conversations and she wasn’t much more responsive now. So Trick did his best to stretch out his sore muscles, battered by the long ride, and hoped for Sari to open up to him eventually.

They camped at the end of that watch in a small circle, wrapped in blankets with their backs to the woolly sides of their zelpnirs. The next day they crossed into the desert proper and rode for three hours, at which point they arrived at a giant hole in the ground. Trick nudged his mount up to the very edge of it, looked down and said, “What is this?”

Chestin smiled. “The Steel Perilous.”